Woodwind Quintet – Song of Creation

I am convinced that when I wrote this woodwind quintet, I had ideas that would have worked much better for a larger ensemble. However, didn’t have the skill to write as large of a piece as I wanted (this was my second year of undergrad). Therefore, the density of the score is consistently thick, creating a bigger sound than the woodwind quintet is generally known for. This “flaw” can obviously be just as advantageous as it is a challenge by putting variety of not only style, but variety of sound itself into a program. As long as all of the performers are aware of the physical requirements and have a good sense of what lines are important, the piece overall should not prove to have unreasonable difficulty for most collegiate level ensembles.

Originally this woodwind quintet started with experimentation of what five voices can do. As the motives that came from the experimentation grew I discovered that the sound itself seemed as if it was growing in the beginning. So I decided to base the piece on the idea of growth; not growth of a singular organism, but an entire ecosystem and any sort of supernatural implications that can go along with the birth of such a system.

This work is about the non-human aspect of creation and what sin has done to the environment that we live in. The piece was finished when I finally found this passage to describe exactly what ended up going through my head: “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by it own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God (Romans 8:20-21 NIV).” This work depicts the beginning of creation and celebrates its existence, mourns its present state, and rejoices in what is promised to come.